The Final Scene Of The Dark Knight Rises Was Actually The First One Written
This post contains spoilers for the 2012 film "The Dark Knight Rises."
Christopher Nolan's 2012 film "The Dark Knight Rises" did a few bold things that few superhero films have the temerity to attempt. For one, "Rises" approached the character of Batman as a symptom of his class. Being immensely wealthy, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) was accused of squandering his wealth in order to become a Batman; the film's villain, Bane (Tom Hardy), noted that being a Batman is a very poor use of one's money when there are public services that could be paid for. When Bane deliberately ruins the Gotham City stock exchange, the audience saw no villainy, but a class revolution.
Even more impressive was the fact that "The Dark Knight Rises" ends the Batman story. Over the course of the film, Batman realizes that punching criminals will solve no major problems, and that he can finally re-process the trauma of his parents' death. For a moment, it looks like Batman, piloting a personal plane, has flown a nuclear bomb out to sea where it can explode without killing anyone, sacrificing himself for his city. Later, however, Alfred (Michael Caine) is at a cafe in Paris, and sees Wayne, now having presumably changed identities, having a meal with Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway). Batman has retired and can live the life of anonymous comfort he has always craved. The Batman story is at an end.
In a world in which superhero movies are regularly expected to link into unending, extended cinematic universes, completing a superhero's journey is a rare thing indeed. Warner Bros. quickly brought the character back, of course, but for four brief years, it looked like Batman would be allowed to retire in peace.
Starting at the end
In a 2020 interview with Empire, "Rises" co-screenwriter David S. Goyer, a longtime superhero screenplay veteran, revealed that the end was where he started on that particular film. Prior to the inception of villains, action set pieces, or plots, the idea of Batman retiring into anonymity was appealing. "Rises" was then backward engineered entirely from that moment. Goyer knew this was to be the final Batman film Nolan would direct, so addressing the end of the character was vital. If Nolan's first Batman film was called "Batman Begins," it seemed appropriate that this one be "Batman Ends." But he doesn't end, he rises. He rises out of the darkness. He rises past the need to be Batman anymore.
Goyer talked about how he and Nolan met at a diner in Los Angeles to work out the details of the film's end. Other details may have changed during production, but it seems the ending was constant throughout. As Goyer explained:
"The final scene of 'The Dark Knight Rises' is exactly that scene we talked about then. [...] It remained completely unchanged. We both knew in our hearts that we were onto something special. I have to tell you, having finally seen everything strung together a little while ago and seeing that scene, I got a complete lump in my throat."
The Empire article pointed out that ending a massively successful film franchise is anathema to modern Hollywood, an industry that encourages filmmakers to keep making movies in a single series as long as there are hands to milk it. The Dark Knight series seems to have been content to stop at three chapters. Was this shooting themselves in the foot, or was it a thrill? In Goyer's words, the ending was what made the film unique, saying "That's why it's f***ing exciting!"